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WPP's Ogilvy Government Relations represents the Coalition to Save Local Media, which is fighting the proposed Sinclair Broadcasting/Tribune Media Co. merger on grounds that the $6.6B cash/deal would crush local independent media and lead to higher prices for consumers.
OGR’s team includes Moses Mercado (chief of staff to ex-Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt), Tim McGivern (COS to former Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback), Conrad Lass (ex-lobbyist for American Petroleum Institute, Southern Co. and Rio Tinto mining company) and Todd Novasone (ex-COS to Kansas Republican Jerry Moran).
The Coalition contends the Sinclair/Tribune combine would reach 72 percent of US households and effectively control the market for broadcast equipment and impede the introduction of new services.
American Cable Assn., CCA (rural/regional wireless carriers), ITTA (broadband providers), DISH Network, Common Cause, Public Knowledge and Foundation for Rural Service are among Coalition members.
Sinclair says the deal would enable it to build a next-generation broadcast platform to offer advanced services for a larger customer base.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Kenneth Weinstein, former head of the conservative Hudson Institute, as ombudsman for CBS News.
